Resolving tensions: optimising the role of primary care in lung cancer follow-up care

Abstract

IntroductionThere is a little consensus on how to manage the supportive and palliative care needs of people with lung cancer once they have completed initial treatment. We aimed to gain insights into the perspectives of clinicians and service users as to how primary care could provide better care in collaboration with lung cancer specialists. Methods We conducted a qualitative study encompassing (a) telephone interviews (84) with healthcare professionals from four UK healthcare authorities, recruited through primary care research networks and other professional contacts and working in primary, secondary and palliative care, and (b) focus groups (4) with lung cancer patients and carers recruited through the Roy Castle Foundation. Interviews and focus groups were digitally recorded, transcribed and entered into NVivo for thematic analysis, initially from different perspectives and then synthesised across the whole data set.